Even before it was released we knew that Dark Phoenix had been heavily altered in reshoots, as it was realized that the plot and some of the imagery was far too close to Captain Marvel. One of the biggest changes was removing the Skrulls from the equation, as the shapeshifters had been used in the MCU movie already, and replacing them with non-descript knock-offs, the D’Bari.
Here’s a look at how the Skrulls could’ve been depicted in DP, though. Seen in the gallery down below, concept artist Houstin Sharp has shared this fascinating image on his Instagram of one interpretation of the aliens. There’s no indication that this would have definitely been the final version used in the film, but it does at least give us an idea of how the Fox take on the race would’ve differed from Marvel’s.
While Captain Marvel decided to humanize the Skrulls, using prosthetics and a closer design to the comics, it makes sense that Dark Phoenix would’ve emphasized their extraterrestrial, scary nature as they would’ve served as the villains of the pic. The tendrils that make up their bodies are an interesting touch, too, and we can maybe infer that these would’ve been part of the animation used in the Skrulls’ shapeshifting.
Sharp also shared a lot more concept art on his social media account, revealing one epic sequence in which a swarm of Skrulls would’ve surrounded Jean Grey in space, before the power of the Phoenix Force blew them away, revealing the final form of the out-of-control Omega mutant. It would’ve been an awesome scene, by the looks of it, but the similarities to CM‘s third act are obvious and you can see why it was replaced.
Going by the fact that Sharp feels free to share these online, we can assume that these deleted scenes won’t be seen on the home release. That’s a shame, but maybe there’ll be some other bonus content that’ll help us see what the movie could’ve been when Dark Phoenix arrives on Blu-Ray on September 17th.